Totally agree. As programmer's I think we are specifically enclined to attempts of formalizing natural language into something precise and reducing it to synta

Totally agree. As programmer's I think we are specifically enclined to attempts of formalizing natural language into something precise and reducing it to syntax and semantics. Yet like you say, natural language is imprecise. And the more I think about how much of a bodge the way we communicate is, the more impressed I am we can have conversations at all. All those layers of indirection, wtf? But of course for almost every layer of indirection there is a safety net, that assures the meaning of what is said is passed on: If I mumble, my body language will help you figure out what I'm trying to say. If write gbbrsh sntce, context make you understand. And if you can't hear me, you can probably make out what I'm saying by lip reading.